Thread by @TexasTribune

1/ Texas’ power grid is struggling again, but this time there is no snow on the ground.

What is going on? bit.ly/3mL8sDr

https://twitter.com/reeseoxner/status/1382398128792297474

2/ First: Don’t panic. Officials with ERCOT say they don’t expect blackouts like the ones that happened during the February winter storm. bit.ly/3mL8sDr

3/ A high number of power plants are offline for maintenance — some due to repairs from the February winter storm.

At the same time, the demand for energy is higher than officials predicted it would be. bit.ly/3mL8sDr

4/ Maintenance outages are common during the spring as power plants prepare for extreme heat in the summer. ERCOT approves power plant’s requests to go offline for maintenance.

There are more maintenance repairs ongoing right now than usual. bit.ly/3mL8sDr

5/ Parts of the state are hotter than the grid operator forecasted. A cold front was delayed.

That led to air conditioners operating longer.

Which led to increased energy use — more than ERCOT had predicted. bit.ly/3mL8sDr

6/ ERCOT also says wind and solar generators are producing less energy than anticipated.

The output of renewable energy sources can change easily, which energy officials can forecast. bit.ly/3mL8sDr

7/ With so many other generators offline, the state is overly reliant on renewables this week.

Any change to ERCOT’s forecast is putting stress on the system. bit.ly/3mL8sDr

8/8 For more, read here. bit.ly/3mL8sDr